You may never have looked at it this way before, but like it or not, your voice is your public relations agent.

Listeners decide on your state of mind, your health, your social and educational background, and even your attitude – mostly from the way you sound. If you doubt this, think of someone you know, can’t you tell how they are feeling from the way they say “Hello”?

Actors, lawyers, salespeople all depend on their voice to make a living. In business, your vocal image converts into dollars (or lack of them). Other things being equal, the better the speaker, the better the living.

What about you?

Are you aware of what your voice says about you? If you are not sure, here’s one way to find out: Put a tape recorder or recordable CD by your phone. Then record your side of a conversation. Try to record at least 10 minutes of it. Wait a day before you play it back. Then ask yourself the following question: “Is this someone I would enjoy listening to?”

If the answer is “No,” then it’s time to thinks about why that is so. You see, your voice is either an important asset or a distraction.

The voice is influenced by many things.

Just a few of the factors that contribute to the sound of your voice are your physical body, your health, your attitude, even your stress level. The good news is that any voice can be improved–but like anything else, it takes know-how and some work.

Learning to breathe correctly, having good posture and practicing vocal exercises will all contribute to more a pleasant sounding voice. Spending even a few minutes a day on improving your sound can improve your vocal quality.

An Exercise

One exercise you can do on a daily basis that will improve how you sound to hum. Humming is an excellent exercise for your voice–and your disposition. It has been known to release stress too.

We often take the most important aspects of lives for granted. Pay attention to your voice; after all, your voice is your public relations agent!

(I wanted to make an audio message for this post, but unfortunately, I can’t seem to upload the audio. I hope to eventually have both audio and video for you to enjoy.)